In a news conference, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson said his players were determined to show they could cope without Wentz, who was ruled out for the season in December when he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

"Since that point, no one has given us a chance. Nobody has given us a chance," said Pederson.

"And I understand, Carson's a great player, but every week, our guys are hearing the same thing - that now we are all of a sudden not good enough.

"We're 13-3 and have the best [regular-season] record in football. We've got home-field advantage throughout. The guys are going to motivate themselves just based on what they have done and heard for the last month of football.

"It really doesn't matter what you guys talk about because that locker room in there is united and I'll go to bat for every one of those guys and I'll go to war with every one of those guys in that dressing room."

Tight end Zach Ertz expects the Eagles to be written off again when they face the Minnesota Vikings or New Orleans Saints next weekend.

"I'm sure everyone will have their doubts," he added. "Everyone's going to say the Eagles don't have a chance and we're going to relish that opportunity again."

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